Tema wooden shelters most prone to fire outbreaks

The Second-in-command, Tema Regional Command of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), has noted with concern the rising number of wooden structures used as lodgings in the Tema Metropolis and their susceptibility to fire outbreaks.

‘Most of the incidents we respond to come from these structures, so we have been advising residents and intensifying our education as a way of curbing rampant fire outbreaks,’ D. O II Timothy Affum said.

D. O. II Affum said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at the Tema Regional Command of GNFS in Tema in response to the fire outbreak that claimed the lives of three children at Community Two, Tema.

D. O. II Affum informed that currently his outfit had a team of fire officers going from house to house educating people in Communities One and Two which were areas in Tema with a high percentage of wooden structures.

The Fire Officer indicated that most of the fire outbreaks was as a result of the improper handling of naked fire which got out of control and caused serious damage to life and property.

He advised the general public to desist from employing the services of unqualified electricians to wire their homes as that could lead to fire outbreaks, explaining that ‘the moment power is restored after a power outage, fire could be triggered because of poor electrical wiring .’

D. O. II Affum said the basic form of fire prevention was for people to change their attitudes and embark on practices which prevented the outbreak of fire.

He added that since people living in such wooden structures could not afford fire detectors, the right attitude to fire issues would be the best measure to safeguard against fire outbreaks.

D. O. II Affum said GNFS was embarking on internal training of fire officers to ensure that they were adapted to changing trends in fire issues so that they could better inform the public on fire prevention and combat fire better.

It would be recalled that fire gutted a wooden structure at BBC, a vicinity in Tema Community Two, which claimed the lives of three children who were having a nap after school.